The aftermath of a house fire at 44 Binney Lane in Old Greenwich, Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 30, 2012, the day after Hurricane Sandy hit in Old Greenwich.

Photo: Bob Luckey

The aftermath of a house fire at 44 Binney Lane in Old Greenwich,...

The aftermath of a house fire at 44 Binney Lane in Old Greenwich, Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 30, 2012, the day after Hurricane Sandy hit in Old Greenwich.

Photo: Bob Luckey

The aftermath of a house fire at 44 Binney Lane in Old Greenwich,...

The aftermath of a house fire at 44 Binney Lane in Old Greenwich, Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 30, 2012, the day after Hurricane Sandy hit in Old Greenwich.

Photo: Bob Luckey

The aftermath of a house fire at 44 Binney Lane in Old Greenwich,...

At left, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy views the scene of the aftermath of a house fire at 44 Binney Lane in Old Greenwich with Greenwich Fire Chief Peter Siecienski, right, the day after Hurricane Sandy hit Old Greenwich, Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 30, 2012.

Photo: Bob Luckey

At left, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy views the scene of the aftermath of...

The aftermath of a house fire at 44 Binney Lane in Old Greenwich, Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 30, 2012, the day after Hurricane Sandy hit in Old Greenwich.

Photo: Bob Luckey

The aftermath of a house fire at 44 Binney Lane in Old Greenwich,...

The aftermath of a house fire at 44 Binney Lane in Old Greenwich, Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 30, 2012, the day after Hurricane Sandy hit in Old Greenwich.

Photo: Bob Luckey

The aftermath of a house fire at 44 Binney Lane in Old Greenwich,...

Conn. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy released aerial photographs taken by the Connecticut National Guard on Tuesday during the Guard s aerial assessment of Hurricane Sandy dam. This image shows the aftermath of a house fire on Binney Lane in Old Greenwich.

Photo: Photos By CT National Guard

Conn. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy released aerial photographs taken by...

Lt. John Chimblo of the Greenwich Fire Department stands among the ruins of the incinerated watefront mansion at 45 Binney Lane in Old Greenwich, Thursday afternoon, November 8, 2012. Chimblo and four other Greenwich firefighters were the first to arrive on the scene of the fire during the height of Hurricane Sandy. Two other homes on the surrounding property caught fire from the hurricane winds and burned to the ground.

A charred tree and rubble are all that remain of the watefront mansion at 45 Binney Lane in Old Greenwich, Thursday afternoon, November 8, 2012. The home along with two neighboring homes burned to the ground during Hurricane Sandy.

A senior Aquarion Water Co. official says the utility is looking to upgrade part of its antiquated infrastructure in the section of Old Greenwich where three homes were ravaged by fire during Superstorm Sandy, all in close proximity to a hydrant rendered useless because of low pressure.

"There certainly are issues with an old distribution system," George Logan, director of engineering and planning for the utility, said Tuesday. "But there are things that we can do to help the flow to that area."

One solution that Logan said Aquarion is considering is the replacement of major feeder pipes in the vicinity of Binney Lane, scene of an Oct. 29 inferno that was the worst fire in recent town history.

But that could take a year or two, according to Logan, who said that Greenwich's stringent post-excavation road repaving standards could dictate the price tag and ultimately which upgrades are done.

"I'm not suggesting that we're going to replace every main in the Binney Lane area," said Logan, who characterized the waterfront enclave as a bottleneck in terms of water distribution.

Enduring 80-mph winds off Long Island Sound, firefighters were forced to transport water by tanker truck from outlying hydrants to Binney Lane because the nearest hydrant lacked pressure.

Greenwich taxpayers foot the bill for nearly $1 million in hydrant and pipe rental fees that the Fire Department pays on an annual basis to Aquarion, which is being pressed by local public safety officials to provide flow readings for its hydrants. The hydrants and pipes on Binney Lane are privately owned, however.

"The town pays a significant fee to the water company every year for hydrant and line rental," said Daniel Warzoha, the town's emergency management director. "Putting on my retired fire chief's hat, I would expect that the water company would be providing us with the most accurate and up-to-date information on water flow testing."

Throughout Greenwich, there are about 1,270 fire hydrants and 293 linear miles of water mains, according to Aquarion.

Logan said Aquarion will work with fire officials, with whom he met Monday to discuss the situation, to determine which hydrants in the neighborhood should be tested. The utility is reluctant to test all of the hydrants because it could stir up sediment that discolors the water.

"It's not practical to do that," Logan said.

When Warzoha was fire chief almost a decade ago, he said he threatened to withhold the quarterly hydrant and pipe rental fee until he received flow data for the town's hydrants from the water company.

Logan was unable to say when was the last time the hydrant nearest to the fire scene had been tested by Aquarion, which he said customarily checks hydrants every three years.

He also could not say what specifically caused the low pressure.

"That certainly is a lower-flow hydrant because of where it is in the distribution system," Logan said.

Even if that hydrant was capable of providing 500 gallons of water per minute, the baseline for fire protection, fire officials say they would not have been able to save the three multimillion-dollar homes and a standalone garage.

Over the next few days, Aquarion is expected to provide the Fire department with electronic and paper copies of its water distribution map for Greenwich, according to Logan.

"They've been very cooperative to date," Fire Chief Peter Siecienski said of Aquarion.

The town will be required to sign an agreement that it will not publicly share the information, which the utility considers to be sensitive from a security standpoint.

"You can imagine the havoc if the distribution map got into the wrong hands," Logan said.

Warzoha said that is in keeping with the town's non-disclosure policy for its emergency plan.

"I, quite candidly, think that what they're saying is well within their right," Warzoha said.

Where Warzoha disagrees with Aquarion concerns the town's road repaving standards, which he said are designed to protect the public.

"We've heard that argument for 30 years in town, and it just doesn't hold water," he said.

Aquarion is expected to provide the fire department with a list of higher flow hydrants in the coming weeks that will also be privileged information.

Logan denied that there is an underlying flow problem in the utility's pipe network, however.

"From my view of the world, there is no low pressure issue in that Binney Lane area whatsoever," Logan said. "We have not received any customer complaints of low pressure for their domestic use whatsoever."